The Africa Appeal Trinity 2018

Transcription

1 The Africa Appeal Trinity 2018 Dear Supporters of the Africa Appeal, Cameroon. Fr. Alphonse Vascaniat Ndutiye has been consecrated the First Diocesan of the Anglican Catholic Church in Cameroon on October 14h, St. Wilfred s Day, at St. Mary s Church (ACC), Denver Colorado. The Consecration, with Archbishop Haverland as chief consecrator, Bishop Lerow and Bishop Lowe as co-consecrators, took place at the end of the meetings of the Provincial Administrative Council and the College of Bishops of the ACC. Fr. Alphonse was supposed to arrive in Denver for those meetings, but due to delays in his flights, he arrived at Denver airport on the 13 th October, just in time to recover (a little) before his Consecration. Mgr. Alphonse left for his flight home on Saturday the 15 th October, and is now safely back in Cameroon. Perhaps it might be an opportunity to hear what drives Mgr. Alphonse in his work, in his own words: I don t know how to say to you about our work for the ACC that I launched with so many difficulties here in Cameroon: it is simply for the love of Jesus. And I tell you, like water poured out on the ground will spread out, just like the Word of God which I have preached could not fail. To attract so many people to our Church here in Cameroon. Just as the water poured on the ground, so it has been that my preaching has attracted so many faithful and the ACC has known such great growth in Cameroon where previously no-none even knew what was meant by Anglicanism. The work is so great, the faithful who need the salvation of their souls so many, in the Yaoundé region, the Coast and in the East, we manage to be present, despite the lack of funds. Should I close or put the brakes on some of the missions, congregations and chapels? No! Should I no longer talk about our church in which so many see the authenticity of the Word that is preached, and our way of living the Gospel which is pure and unspotted? No! But there are not sufficient funds, as you know well. We have seen the progress that has been made, in a remarkable fashion and with very little outside help, in the project to construct a Cathedral for the ACC-Cameroon. With concern that as the walls have been rising, there will soon be the need for more expenses as the roof has to be installed. Fr. Alphonse provided these useful figures as a guide to what will be needed in the coming months and years: La Cathédrale de St. Michel Archange à Nsimalen, Yaoundé:

2 Preparation for the roof: $750 Cost of Materials: $2000 Cost of labour: $900 Interior finishing: $1300 Need for a temporary installation to protect the altar and the faithful for 3 years: $900 Wall which has been requested to be built urgently to protect the site: $3000 Electricity supply for the site : house and cathedral: $900 Water supply for the cathedral and health centre: $1300 Total: $11, (Onze Mille Cinquante Dollars) There is a need for more funds for construction, more funds urgently, so that a temporary shelter from heavy rain can be built for the current congregation at the cathedral, more funds for the wall (which one of the officials has recommended be built around the site.), more funds for the ordinands, not forgetting electricity and water supply to the Priest s house! DRM+ Kenya. This just recently received from the Kenya Chicken project: Bishop John Ndegwa writes: Although in August we had begun incubating in a tiny scale due to a delay for some chicken to lay eggs but through a good support from the Archbishop, we were able to feed the chickens properly and satisfactorily. The chickens reached our target of eggs last week. It will be necessary for us to keep this momentum for some weeks before we secure a marketing platform: we need to maintain this feeding mode. We shall for a short while need several bags of layers mash and the time we had all been praying for shall surely soon prove that this was a God given plan. We need 8 bags only. Together with vitamins a bag will cost about Ksh 4,500 (USD 45) which will amount to Ksh36,000 (USD 360) As a final stage of fundraising towards the poultry project and having been massively and generously supported in the past, having individual well-wishers provide each a bag or two will still be a blessing. During these months we have learnt patience, perseverance but much more to trust in God. We pray for His will through the Church to be done. We must remember that many in this parish live in great poverty, especially from the Korogocho slums of Nairobi and those from upcountry missions. If it were not for the funds received, we

3 couldn't have afforded headgears for the Daughters of Mary during the 20th May thanksgiving function. God has always been gracious, and we believe in His provision. South Sudan. Bishop Wilson Garang and his wife, Tabitha, have returned safely from the Diocese of Aweil, and are at home in Nairobi: They both became sick whilst in the Diocese but are now healthy again. We all moan about the frustrations and delays in air travel these days: how would you like to be forced to wait two days before you were able to board your plane? This is what can happen when you try to fly from Juba, the capital of South Sudan, to Nairobi! In the Diocese, the good news is that with concerted efforts, the Wall has been completed: it is hard to imagine the effort needed to build this defence in the heat: weatherspark.com tells us that: In Aweil, the wet season is hot, oppressive, and overcast and the dry season is sweltering and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 19 C to 40 C and is rarely below 16 C or above 43 C.

4 May God bless you for your concern and continued support. With your support and God s grace we have managed to start the construction of the wall and we need more funds to pay the contractor, cement, bricks and the funds to complete the security wall. High temperatures and rain mean that there are floods, the dry season means that water is scarce: clean water is impossible to find, even with a long walk from your village. But clean water means improved health for children and adults alike! Bishop Garang is always seeking the assistance needed to provide good water for the villages: through the drilling of wells and provision of a community pump. This would save all the time it takes many women in walking to the water hole:

5 a Wishing you many blessings and many thanks for your concern +Bishop Garang Bishop Garang has advised that there is significant illness amongst the clergy: all help is welcomed to enable the clergy and their families to be able to access medical care! Congo (DRC) Recently, Bishop Steven Ayule-Milenge wrote the activities of the Mai-Mai militias in one area where there are parishes of the ACC. But in his writings, he has also dealt with another problem, which results from the lack of law and order, the need to protect your belongings against all comers. This series of problems started out with a mistake: Bishop Steven writes: According to information received from several sources, the inter-tribal conflicts on the high plateau started with the murder of a Tutsi-Banyamulenge student of the Ngomino militia who has been killed by the Mai-Mai militia from the Bafuliro tribe, who had erected a barrier across the highway to ransom each passer-by by demanding less than one US dollar in Congolese Francs. The Munyamulenge student refuse to pay, the Mai-Mai told him to choose between death or to pay the amount demanded of all who cross the barrier. In fact, the boy, a student simply didn t have the money to pay. He was killed, and his body thrown into the intersection. When the Ngomino militia from the Banyamulenge Tutsi tribe saw the corpse of the student, and saw that he was one of them, they went in their turn to kill 5 people from the civilian population from the Bafuliro tribe as vengeance.

6 Sadly, among the 5 people killed, there were three from the Babembe tribe, who had nothing to do with the tribal conflict between the Banyamulenge Tutsi and the Bafuliro. Amongst the three Babembe there was a chief from the Bembe village. The Mai-Mai from the Babembe tribe came on a vengeance raid and burnt entire Congolese Banyamulenge Tutsi villages, carried off their cattle into the forest and killed those left behind. That has been the start of conflict which has left many victims homeless as they fled their homes to take refuge in Mwenga territory Collectivity of Itombwe. A chapel from our St. Thomas parish has been a victim of the atrocities committed by armed militias (Ngomino Tutsi Banyamulenge, Bafuliro and Babembe). The national army is intervening, supported by the United Nations forces. This area is very remote: there are no roads for vehicle traffic only the helicopters from the Congolese army and from MONUSCO (United Nations) can get there easily. The local police and military presence is insignificant when confronted by local armed groups. To go there on foot, you must climb the Mitumba mountains to the peak where it high enough for snow to be found in some places from January through to March each year. Despite the challenges and difficulties, we strive to develop our diocese in more secure places. And in those areas which are at risk, we try to our duty even with the risks to our life together with our priests and catechists. We seek your help for our projects, and your prayers for this population in distress. Nous sollicitons votre assistance pour nos projets et songer à cette population en détresse. Merci, +Mgr. Steven Ayule-Milenge Rwanda As I wrote previously, Fr. Deacon Shadrack Niyibizi, who is at present is working to register the church as legal representative of ACC in Rwanda has been faced with a difficult task imposed on him by a government which is attempting to ensure that those who start a church have had adequate training and oversight to protect any who may enter their doors! It is a similar programme to that in Cameroon, where there had been an avalanche of small groups wanting to gain government approval. The method was to licence only those churches which have a solid footprint: being the possession of a church building built of stone or concrete! Deacon Shadrack wrote that the ACC in Rwanda had requested a delay in this action, so that funds could be raised for at least one building. Archbishop Haverland has advised

7 that the ACC Rwanda has been the recipient of a substantial gift through the St. Paul Missionary Society, a gift which should permit the basic construction of St. Thomas Rwanyakayaga. The project to finish the work is 7000$: more than the current amount received. In Christ, DRM+ How to give support to these churches There are no deductions from moneys received by the Appeal; the full dollar amount is sent to Cameroon, South Sudan, Congo or Kenya. Any overheads are paid from gifts received for this purpose. In Canada The Parish of St. Bride By see Or: c/o Camwood Ave., Maple Ridge, BC V2X 2N9 Please make a note that the funds are for the Africa Appeal on the front of the cheque. Tax receipts will be issued by the parishes. In the USA The St. Paul Missionary Society, The Anglican Catholic Church, PO Box 5223, Athens, GA If you need a receipt for tax purposes or acknowledgement in the newsletter, please write to tell us your name, details of the deposit and enclose a self-addressed envelope. If you intend the donation for a special project, please let us know, so we can designate it accordingly. In the UK Cheques should be made payable to Anglican Catholic Church - Diocese of the United Kingdom and marked on the back: Missions Cameroon, Congo or S. Sudan as appropriate and sent to: Diocesan Treasurer, ACC Diocesan Office, St Nicholas House, High Street, Lydd, Kent TN29 9AN